Grade-11 (English) Unit-5 Life and Love - The Looking Glass - by Anton Chekhov (Part-I)

 Grade-11 (English) Unit-5 Life and Love - The Looking Glass - by Anton  Chekhov (Part-I)

“The Looking Glass” is a story about the dream of a young girl with the harsh realities in her life.

About the story “The Looking Glass”…
— ‘Looking Glass’ is one of Anton Chekhov’s short stories. The story revolves around the dream of Natalie and how it continues to frighten and scare her because of her inability to find solution to the problem and the sense of helplessness created.

— Theme:  The significance of dreams.

— Nellie, a young and pretty daughter of a landowner looked pale, tense and motionless or exhausted as looking glass because of her dreaming day and night of being married.
— Her internal conflict is portrayed by her motionless eyes and parted lips and she finds it challenging to relate these difficulties to other people.
— By carefully delineating the dreams to readers, Chekhov is able to portray how dreams continue to influence the decisions and responses of people.  The depiction of Nellie and her inability to address the issues she has demonstrates that reality.
— Chekhov is able to advance the struggles of a woman who is unable to respond to the situation she is in, despite being a dream . She saw a handsome guy with a smiling face before her but about her dream she can’t express in speech or on paper.  Months and years affected the grey background.
— She found one winter night knocking Dr. Stephen Lukitch’s door. Despite the dog’s barking, darkness, and the cook’s denial,  she rushed to his room and starts sobbing as she found him lying his bed, dressed and breathing into his open hand and uttered, “My husband is ill!”
— Her sufferings would have touched the heart of a stone, but the doctor looked at her, blew into his open hand and muttered to visit tomorrow. She cried saying that her husband needed him at the time as he has typhus. Dr.  Lukitch responded that he had been seeing typhus patients for three days and it had caught him, too. He mentioned his temperature nearly forty so he couldn’t help.
— The state of helplessness can be seen both internally and through Nellie’s interaction with Dr. Lukitch.
— She walked nervously up down the bedroom and moaned in despair saying ‘for mercy’s sake!’ The doctor responded her to go to the Zemstvo doctor. She said it’s far away from her. Time is precious and less so she said to have pity on her husband.
— The doctor replied that he had fever and his head was in a whirl so she should leave him alone. Being angry, she threatened to summon him before the court if he refused to go.
— The doctor hardly looked for his coat like the very lowest beggar and again lied down. Nellie dragged him to the hall and finally she was with him in the carriage.
— The earth was wrapped in darkness and the cold winter wind was blowing. The coachman was continuously stopping to find the right track.
— At 5 in the morning, they arrived at her apartment. She made the doctor to sit down on the sofa and went to see her husband but as she returned, she found the doctor serious and delirious as her husband and she decided to go for the Zemstvo doctor.
— Again she was followed by the grey background, a cutting cold wind, lumps of frozen earth with her both heavy body and soul and she thought of her husband’s hard labour to pay the interest for the mortgage to the ban and both of them could not sleep till their heads ached. She also thought of her children and their sufferings from cold, fever, diphtheria and bad marks at school.
— She found her husband dying. Everything in detail such as the coffin, the candles, the deacon, and even the footmarks in the hall made by the undertaker’s walking. She was in completely gloomy and deserted status.
— Suddenly, something fell from Nellie’s hand and knocked on the door and she jumped and opened her eyes wide. She found one looking glass at her feet. Then, she looked herself in the mirror and found her a pale and tear stained face. There was no grey background. She realized that it was a grief stricken dream.
— The fear of the future is also relevant in helping appreciate this piece of Chekhov. From how the story is depicted, the author enables readers to recognize how dreams reflect the subconscious. For instance, Chekhov’s use of the lines “the grey background was untouched by death” enables readers to identify the scenarios the protagonist is subjected to.
— Chekhov use of symbolism such as  the looking glass or mirror remains to be significant because it portrays the future. From how the author depicts the character, the use of mirror remains to be instrumental because it serves as a window to her subconscious. Here, Chekhov uses this object to portray Nellie’s inner feelings, her fears and the manner she continues to feel helplessness. Through the use of looking glass, the story becomes successful in bringing together its goals and objectives to readers.
— Overall, ‘The Looking Glass’ is one valuable story by Anton Chekhov because of its portrayal of dreams and how it remains to be significant in helping understand human condition.
                 

Ways with words…
A. Match the words with their meanings.
a.  Exhausted             i. Vision
b.  Apparent               ii. Wavy
c.   Vista                       iii. Predetermine
d.  Undulating            iv. Prevent, hinder
e.  Destined                v. suffocating, airless
f.     Stuffy                      vi. Tired
g.  Restrain                  vii. Clear
 Answer:
a.-vi        b.-vii           c.-i          d.-ii               e.-iii                      f.-v                      g.-iv  

B. Write the meaning  and word class of the following words. Then use them in sentences of your own.
a.  Implore:(v)- to ask someone to do sth. in sincere way- She implored her parents not to send her away to school.
b.  Despair:(n)- worrying situation- They are despair about the money they have lost.
c.   Beseech: (v)- beg- Stay a little longer, I beseech you.
d.  Eloquent:(adj)- giving a clear message- The pictures were the eloquent reminder of  power of volcano.
e.  Whirl-(v/n)-turn around in cirle/continuous-He whirled her round until she felt quite sick.
f.     Egoism:(n)-self  selfishness- Because of her egoism, she never thought of others’ feelings.
g.  Agony:(n)-extreme physical and mental pain- She lay there screaming in agony.
h.  Delirious: (adj)-extremely happy- Nepali team arrived the country in a delirious reception.
i.      Delusive:(adj) – false- I had a delusive hope that she would return one day.
j.      Compensate:(v) – to pay money in exchange of sth.- The government compensated the victims of  plane crush.
k.   Mortgage:(n/v)- to borrow money to buy an apartment- The house was mortgaged  up to the hilt.
l.      Brood:(n/v)-  young ones of birds/ human beings/think  for a long time about thing that make sad-  The black birds flew back with its brood.
m.                  Prelude:(n)- short piece introduces main work- The prelude includes essence of the story.
                   

                    

D. Choose the correct word.
a.  Sarita was shocking/shocked to hear about earthquake.
b.  I think that rainy days in winter are depressing /depressed.
c.   The football match was very exciting/excited. I enjoyed it.
d.  The meals at Delight Café are satisfying/ satisfied.
e.  I’ve got nothing to do. I’m boring/ bored.
f.     Tanka is very good at telling stories. He can be very amusing/ amused.
g.  The teacher’s explanation was confusing/confused. Most of the students didn’t understand it.
h.  He is such a boring/bored person. He never wants to go out.
i.      I will be surprising/surprised if she does well in her test.
j.      Are you interesting/interested in politics?

E.  Write the correct form of the adjectives in the blanks as in the example.
— Example- Grammar rules frustrate me. They are not logical. They are so frustrating.
a.  They frustrate me but they don’t bore me. I never get…….when I study grammar.- bored
b.  If teachers want to interest the students, they must use ……..materials.- teaching/interesting
c.   Certain stories interest almost everybody. For example, most students are ……in fairy tales.- interested
d.  Certain things frighten me, but I never get …..when I speak English.- frightened
e.  If I get a good grade, that excites me.  And if I get more than ninety percent, I am really……- excited

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